


Birthdays

by Blueskittles03



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Other, Platonic Relationships, Someone stop me, broganes, eventual angst, young shiro and Keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 21:13:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11906319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueskittles03/pseuds/Blueskittles03
Summary: Keith's tenth birthday.Shiro is seventeen. He'd planned to surprise Keith with a small party at his house... he'd never expected to find him alone.





	Birthdays

**Author's Note:**

> So. I came up with this concept at like 8:00 today (much earlier than I am ever awake during the summer) and wrote most of it in the Apple notes app while eating ramen noodles. (I'm posting it from safari, so I really hope this doesn't mess anything up!) It's probably not as good as I think it is. I'm mostly doing this because I feel bad about not updating the modern day AU (I will update it soon, I promise!)  
> Also note: I coded this as sheith, but it's really more of a platonic, brogane-ish relationship.

"Surprise, Keith!" Yelled Shiro, throwing open the door to the little shack.  
"Huh?" Keith looked up from the table he'd been sitting at. Shiro caught a gleam in the boy's eyes... tears? But then he caught sight of Shiro, and all traces of sadness vanished.  
"Shiro!" He yelled, launching himself at the older boy and allowing himself to be smothered in a hug.  
"Woah, careful, buddy!" Shiro said, struggling to keep the loads of party supplies in his arms as Keith embraced him.  
"I didn't know you were coming," Keith said, scrambling off him.  
"That's because it was a surprise! Happy birthday!" Replied Shiro.  
"Thanks, Shiro," said Keith, his eyes wide and smiling. He turned his head slightly and his attention was instantly grabbed by the huge plastic shopping bag swinging from Shiro's arm.  
"Ooh!" He exclaimed, grabbing for the bag. "What'd you bring me?"  
"I'll show you," said Shiro, setting the bag down on the table. Keith scrambled onto a small chair at the edge of the table, eagerly awaiting the revelation.  
Grinning at the younger boy's excitement, Shiro untied the handles of the bag and opened it, revealing all the party supplies he'd brought.  
"First of all, little brother, we need to spice up this party with some decorations!" He declared, pulling a string of party banners out of the bag. "Where should we hang these?" He asked Keith. Grinning, Keith pointed at the doorway.  
"There! That way when dad comes back..." he trailed off, suddenly not as happy as he had been a few moments before.  
"Back?" Said Shiro, confused. "He's not here?"  
Keith shook his head. "He'll come back," he said, trying to reassure the older boy. "He will," he said firmly. Shiro wasn't convinced, but he forced his expression back to a cheerful one. No reason to get Keith worked up over what was probably nothing.  
Probably. "Don't worry, bud," said Shiro, tugging more banners and a pack of balloons out of the bag. "We'll make this place look great for when he does get back."

An hour later, Keith finally declared the shack acceptably decorated. Shiro was just about ready to collapse from lack of air (he'd blown up most of the balloons) but Keith still seemed to be bursting with energy.  
"Now what?" He asked, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet.  
"Now, we go back to the bag..." said Shiro, reaching into the bag again, "and pull out..."  
"A box?" Keith asked, confused, as Shiro set a nondescript white box down on the table.  
"Open it," said Shiro, smiling. Tentatively, Keith reached out to pull open the top of the box.  
"A cake!" Keith exclaimed as he pulled the lid off the box, revealing a small red-frosted cake with shaky white icing spelling out 'Happy Birthday Keith!'  
"I made it specially for you," said Shiro, lifting the cake out of the box. "Let me find some forks and we can eat it together."

Shiro was regretting making the cake red.  
If Keith had anything close to a typical dad, Shiro would be dead when he saw this. 90% of Keith's face was stained red, as well as a large portion of the table and Shiro's (brand-spanking-new) shirt. Now he was kneeling in front of Keith with a wet paper towel, trying without success to rub some of the color out of his cheeks.  
"Maybe I shouldn't have used so much food coloring..." Shiro muttered, tossing the now red paper towel into the trash with the twelve others he'd used before this. Keith smiled. "Thanks for the cake, Shiro. It was delicious!"  
"The fun's not over yet, little brother," Shiro said, once again returning to the bag on the table. This time he pulled out a smaller box, wrapped neatly in red paper. Keith's eyes widened as Shiro set the box down in front of him.  
"A present?" Asked Keith, unsure.  
"Go on, open it," said Shiro softly.  
Keith looked at him once again, seemingly needing one more confirmation. Shiro nodded.  
It was all Keith needed. He ripped open the package excitedly, tearing the paper to reveal a brightly decorated box, advertising...  
"You... you got me a hoverbike?" Keith asked in wonder, staring through the clear plastic at the little model inside.  
"Its remote-controlled," said Shiro, pointing to the back of the box. "It'll move however you want it to." Keith was silent. Confused, Shiro looked down at the younger boy to see his eyes shining with tears.  
"Keith? What's wrong?" Shiro kneels down beside him.  
"Dad took the hoverbike yesterday." Said Keith quietly. "I-I don't think... Dad's not coming back, Shiro."  
"What?" Shiro's eyes widened in surprise. "Keith, are you sure?"  
"H-he said he w-wasn't coming back," Keith stammered. "He said I could t-take care of myself now, and that I didn't n-need him anymore so he was l-leaving..."  
"Keith?"  
"He took all his stuff. He-he packed it all into the back of the hoverbike and... and..."  
"Keith, it's okay. I--"  
"I thought he'd come back," Keith interrupted him, "that maybe he'd remember, and he'd come back but..."  
He was cut off as Shiro pulled him into a tight hug.  
"Hey, Keith. Hey," said Shiro, making Keith look up and meet his eye. "Listen. This, all of this... it's not your fault, understand?"  
Keith looked down, not offering any response.  
"Keith. Your dad, he loves you, okay? Don't ever think he doesn't. He just... he couldn't handle being out here. It wasn't okay of him to leave you here alone, but..."  
"He did," said Keith quietly. "He left me."  
"Keith, listen. You don't need him. You have me," Shiro said. "And I'm never going to leave you."

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this is a lot shorter than any other fic I've written whoops. (I mean, it's a oneshot, so I guess it's ok?) 
> 
> Again. Criticize me mercilessly. Please. Do not hold back, tell me exactly what you think about my shitty writing. (Constructively!) 
> 
> I honestly feel like the beginning goes too fast, but I couldn't figure out how to make it better without it being unnecessarily long. If you've got any suggestions, please tell me!
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


End file.
